Asian American Performance Ensemble to Feature Renowned Work of Rick Shiomi

GENESEO, N.Y. -- GENseng, SUNY Geneseo's Asian American performance ensemble, will showcase playwright and stage director Rick Shiomi's award-winning production "Mask Dance" April 29 - May 1 in the School of the Arts' Robert Sinclair Theatre. The performances are Thursday at 7 p.m., Friday at 4 p.m. and Saturday matinee at 2 o'clock. The production is directed by Randy Barbara Kaplan, professor of theater in Geneseo's School of the Arts, who founded GENseng with three students in 1999.

Shiomi, one of the leading figures of the Asian American theater movement, is the artistic director and one of the founders of the Minneapolis-based theater company Mu Performing Arts. His plays have been produced by the major Asian American theater companies including the Asian American Theater Company in San Francisco, Pan Asian Repertory in New York City and East West Players in Los Angeles. He also has written screenplays for film and television.

GENseng is the only ensemble of its kind in the entire 64-campus SUNY system. Since its founding, the group has produced a contemporary Asian American play each semester.

GENseng's mission is to educate the Geneseo community about the histories, literatures, and cultures of Asian Americans, and to provide training for all students who participate in GENseng to learn acting, directing, and technical theater.

Tickets for the performances are $7 and are available at the Brodie Hall Box Office, online or by calling 585-245-5833.